Lots of different events and circumstances can make family life stressful, from mental health problems to getting married. When things become overwhelming within a family, or when you’re finding it difficult to move out of old, unhelpful patterns, family therapy may be able to help.

Family therapy looks to help members of a family understand each other better, change negative behaviours and resolve conflicts. It is appropriate for all ages and can even be useful for individuals.

It focuses on the relationships between individual members of the family more than the individuals themselves.

how it works...

Coming to see a family therapist gives families the chance to express and explore their feelings in a safe, non-judgemental environment altogether. Working alongside a family or systemic therapist, families can discuss difficulties and differences within their relationships with the aim of improving communication and finding a way forward, together.

This systemic approach to family therapy looks to be inclusive and considerate of every member of the family, avoiding any sense of ‘ganging up’. It looks to recognise each individual’s strengths and build on these within sessions and to work with members of the family in a collaborative way.

If a child in a family is perceived as having a problem, a family therapist will see this not as a problem that belongs to the child, but as a manifestation of a difficulty within the dynamics of the whole family.

Family therapists will invite engagement and be sensitive to the diverse nature of family relationships, norms, beliefs and cultures.








Family therapy Ipswich Suffolk